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Without missing a beat, Vera broke from the group to call down an Archeops, the most efficient messanger in the area. "We have a possible intrusion. Spread the word to keep an eye out for suspicious activity. The target is likely an earthen Pokemon and can use Earthquake, proceed with extreme caution and use ranged attacks if possible. Do not engage the target directly. The target is likely not alone. Round up ANYONE who seems out of place or unfamiliar."

Sovereign acknowleged Deluge, though he did not like taking orders from other Sentinels. Somehow the others never quite treated him as one of them. But he prefered to ignore it. Such thoughts only distracted from their purpose. "I didn't quite get a lock. It wasn't very long and it was very unexpected, but I can lead to the general direction. Gold Tribe are usually easy to notice, so that should be enough." Sovereign led them in the direction that he had felt the disturbance. "I don't know the Gold Tribe well enough to tell who this may be, but that quake had more power than just any Pokemon could muster. No. This is a Pokemon of the Ground. So be ready."

Snype listened to Deluge's instructions... kind of. Snype wasn't all that worried but that may have been his overconfidence. He continued with his large smile. Snype rushed outside with the others and began to look around for any signs of disturbance. As he walked outside he could hear something screaming in the distance... it sounded like it was coming from above. He looked for the source and noticed an Ancient falling to his death from the sky. How curious! He didn't plant to help the poor sap but whatever caused it was still around.

Looking up into the sky he caught sight of a Pokemon. He wasn't sure what his species was called nor did he care but it looked suspicious that was for sure. He simply snickered.

"Hey, do earthen Pokemon usually fly like that? Or do ancients have a hobby of dropping their own to the ground? Creative I must say!" Snype said, pointing to the Pokemon currently flying in the air. "Comon bring him down here! I wanna beat him up a bit!" Snype said, getting all jumpy and such.

When Paladin came back to his senses, his flying abilities had diminished. A Golurk's flying ability took up a lot of their energy, and Paladin couldn't hold it for too long. Quickly placing the egg inside his satchel, he started to fall to the ground. His legs re-appeared from inside his torso as he restrained screams. He knew he could survive this. He was a Ghost-type Pokemon, after all. Just before Paladin made contact with the ground of Cape City, he focused the last of his energy into becoming intangible, meaning he restricted his own density, and that of anything touching him, to be able to go right through the ground. It took a few moments, but he re-emerged from the ground. Unfortunately for the Golurk, performing this feat required a great, great amount of energy, and having used up the last of his, Paladin blacked out in front of a horde of astonished civilians.

When he came to, Paladin found that he was lying on a bed. Above him, a Mismagius hovered, its face peering down at his. "So, you're awake," the Mismagius stated the obvious. She then drifted away, allowing Paladin to rise. He found that he was in a strange-looking house. The wallpaper was entirely black, and the ceiling appeared to have patterns of constellations and such engraved into it. Paladin stood up from the bed, having to crouch down in order to avoid hitting the ceiling. Just then, his foot sank into the weak wooden floor, revealing a few Rattata that appeared to be living underneath the floorboards. The startled Mismagius turned around and scolded Paladin. "Watch where you put those paws, you idiot." Paladin sat back down on the bed while the Mismagius cleared away the Rattata. "Who are you?" was the first question that sprung to Paladin's mind. "My name is Veletra. I was a witch-doctor in the old days. Before...well, you know," Veletra replied. "In regards to the other obvious questions you might ask, yes, you are still in Cape City, and you fell out of the sky. Also, you might like to know that you just killed an Ancient. You do realize the Sentinals are here, don't you? They're waiting for Gold Tribe, like you, judging by what I found in your satchel." The groggy Golurk shot awake at the mention of his satchel. "My satchel! Where is it?" he demanded. "Don't worry, your egg is safe. Judging by its appearance, I would say it's not yours. Did you steal it?" Veletra pried. "I didn't steal it. I found it abandoned and took it in," Paladin said. Veletra nodded understandingly, as if she had some understanding of what she meant, and dropped the subject. "Now, you do realize the entire Silver Tribe and the Ancients are on your tail, don't you?" Paladin nodded. Now that he was back to his senses, it all seemed obvious. Looks like staying inconspicuous was no longer on the agenda.

"So, Veletra, why are you helping me?" Paladin asked. The Mismagius motioned to a nearby nightstand with her head, while devoting most of her attention to creating some kind of potion in her small cauldron. On the nightstand lay a shining Gold Tribe emblem, but it was not Paladin's. It belonged to someone by the name of "Phantom" apparently. "My father," Veletra began, "was a member of the Gold Tribe back in its glory days. He was a well-respected veteran, and was one of Adam Reed's closest friends. He died in combat alongside him." Paladin said nothing. For some reason, the name "Phantom" awakened something in his memory. Some deep, insignificant memory, but he was pretty sure he'd met Veletra's father before at some point. She must have been helping him out of respect for her dead father. "Now, take this potion I made," Veletra ordered. Paladin walked over to the bubbling cauldron, which contained some kind of green liquid. Reluctantly, Paladin drank the concoction, and suddenly, a little of his energy seemed to return to him. "Thanks," he said, as he lay back down on the bed. "You better stay here. Your energy hasn't been fully restored, so you need to rest." Those were the last words Paladin heard from Veletra before drifting back to sleep.

Uncharacteristically quiet, Genevieve followed the lead of the others as they went about their little scavenger hunt. Chasing ghosts and shadows. An earthquake that nobody else felt, but Sovereign. It did make sense when one stopped to think about it, and she had been doing a lot of that lately. He was a rock type, well, half rock. It only made sense that he should have an affinity towards things of the earth. She herself had a natural inclination to things unseen, the energies between creatures and thoughts. Did each Pokemon have their own special talents that the others were completely unaware of? It was a curious proposition. Deeming that it required further investigation, she stored it away in her memory banks, an idea to play with at a later date.

There was a more worrying notion, however. Cedric. And she did mean Cedric, not his preposterous title of “Deluge”. It was almost childish, these nicknames. Were they masked vigilantes? Of course not. People should know who to admire or fear, not a hollow call-sign. But, names aside, he had called her out on her appearance. Was it really that betraying to her? The others didn’t seem to pick up on it. Or did they? This thought gave her great pause, an almost fearful feeling opening its maw and threatening to swallow her in it. At that moment, there was no potential intruder. Just the fear of discovery and the consequences that it brought. Who knew how a battle between Sovereign and herself would end. Would one even be a victor, or would it just be mutually assured destruction? Maybe he wouldn’t be angry at all for her indiscretion with Scar. His anger would surely be geared more towards Scar himself, or so she liked to think. Where was Scar anyway? Still sleeping? So many questions, so many answers that didn’t come. Her mind was like a mini battlefield all its own.

The list of people she would have to eliminate kept growing by the day. There was one in particular that came to mind. One that could easily be removed without anything being amiss. Plans would have to be put in place, all things moving forward in their due time. Soon...

An annoying voice penetrated her thoughts, breaking her from the stupor she had been lingering in. Snype. Something about flying ground types. She didn’t quite know, she hadn’t been paying him even a fraction of her attention. He was on the list, but not first. “No, I don’t particularly think they do. Unless somebody throws them, would you care to try?” She looked down at him and juggled a rock in front of his face with her mind, the rock being an obvious substitution for his body. But just as the creature in the sky came plummeting to an obvious death, she lost sight of it. Vanishing for lack of a better word.

“Rally the ancients. Every home, storefront, or place of worship, search them. I want this person found, now! Arceus be damned,” she called out, superseding Vera’s broad orders from earlier.

As he closed his pack, Hanso froze, mind ringing. Someone had tripped a few of his sensors. He'd meant to gather them up so they'd leave little more than a faint residue, but now it seemed better that he'd put it off. Since he was done packing, Hanso stood up straight, eyes scanning the area in the direction of the tripped sensors. There was someone out there, that was obvious. He reached out with his telepathy-sense, then felt a bit of relief. It wasn't an Ancient's mind, that was for sure. At the same time, though, Hanso didn't recognize him. Or her. He didn't try to make contact, so he couldn't yet tell which gender it might be. Hm...friend, foe, or neutral? Hanso pulled his emblem off his arm and held it so the sunlight reflected in the general direction of the tripped sensors.

As Dinorah watched the group of Pokemon gathered a short distance away from where she stood hidden in the forest, she thought that perhaps they were unlikely to be the enemy, as she saw no ancients around. Then again, she knew that by now, it was possible, even likely that more Pokemon have started working for the Silver Tribe across Valkaria, either directly or indirectly. But then one of them looked out in her general direction and she focused on the Gallade, wondering if she had been discovered. However, he didn't approach her, just grasped an emblem and held it out in the sunlight, where it caught the light and glowed a bright golden yellow. Immediately she relaxed some, glad that she had apparently finally found the remaining Gold Tribe, or at least some of them. She would then slowly step out into the open, calling out "Please don't be alarmed, I am on your side." As she approached the group, offering her name when she got close enough that she no longer needed to yell. "My name is Dinorah. Are you all from Gold Tribe?"

__________________

“What if everything you see is more than what you see--the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it is really a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you will find many unexpected things.” ― Shigeru Miyamoto

Accatosh let the younglings eat their breakfast and get ready to leave, he glanced over to Truestriker and Vigil who were having a rather important conversation, when they were done, Truestriker started packing up, then he stopped, after a moment, he finished packing up, and took his golden emblem from his arm and showed it in a particular direction letting the sun bounce off of it. Shortly after the Galade did so there came a shout "Please don't be alarmed, I am on your side." Accatosh turned to look at the one who spoke, it was a Meganium. Turns out Truestriker did in fact find something, however he seemed, to Accatosh at least, to have a lot on his mind. The Meganium came closer, she looked rather odd, considering she had leaves underneath the flower petals around her neck, and the darker green skin color, but other than that she looked normal. As soon as she was close enough to talk without needless shouting she introduced herself, "My name is Dinorah. Are you all from Gold Tribe?"

"yes, we're all gold tribe, except the three younglings over there." Accatosh said, nodding with his head to the three young ones, he looked the Meganium up and down for a moment, "and what is someone like you doing here, at this hour?"

“Well, if we begin heading in that general direction, I assume he will be found.” Deluge solemnly replied to Sovereign. As they began their strut to the direction of the Earthquake, Snype appeared to have spotted something in the sky. Deluge barely caught glimpse of it himself, being quite far away. But he did see…something.

“Rally the ancients. Every home, storefront, or place of worship, search them. I want this person found, now! Arceus be damned,” Genevieve command. The Archeops nearby departed immediately to proceed with the orders, the pace of the Ancient matching the urgency uttered by the Gardevoir Sentinel. Deluge floated by the others as they proceeded into the heart of the city, Ancients in the area already beginning their search among the streets, and some proceeding into the homes and shops of others. Their ruthless efficiency and disregard for the sentiments of Pokemon made them most excellent at this task, as they proceeded in without fear, guilt, or reluctance. Deluge marveled at the sight, but was also upset that the mystery Pokemon wasn’t found yet. From the way Sovereign had described it, the Pokemon was strong. There was a good chance it was with the Gold Tribe. To have one slip from their fingers would be most troublesome indeed.

“The Pokemon had to have landed down…it is more likely than not that one of the citizens is sheltering it. Perhaps a way to...root them out?" Deluge suggested to the others. "There are quite a lot of civilians around, and if this Pokemon is in fact a Gold Tribe member, I'm sure he won't like us executing them on their behalf..."

Plains of Valkaria

"Please don't be alarmed, I am on your side." A voice said from the direction that TrueStriker had faced. Zane spun himself around and noticed a Meganium approaching. Her skin appeared to be a slightly darker green than was the norm among their species. From what Zane could see, she was alone. He wondered what she was doing here, and all by herself. She didn't appear to be a soldier, nor anyone from the Gold Tribe. "My name is Dinorah. Are you all from Gold Tribe?"

Blitzkrieg addressed her first. Zane spoke up afterward, adding onto what the Salamence had said. “Yes, it’s unusual for someone to be traveling by themselves all the way out here. Especially by themselves. My name is Zane Tyrael, known as Vigil. Would you mind telling us what you’re doing out here?”

As Snype followed the others into the hear of the city, he noticed something strange. Whatever fell down wasn't here! He wasn't expecting to see both of them right away but he still expected to see the corpse that fell down! Somebody was hiding it... and the culprit seemed to be hiding as well. Snype watched the ancients go around to get their information.

"The mystery Pokemon dropped an ancient down here. I don't see a corpse. One of them had to have hid that as a means of keeping evidence from us. Kehehehe... maybe that particular ancient survived? Or maybe something saved it? Or it could be dead... I don't really care. But I at least expect to see a couple gooey bits scattered around after a fall like that!" Snype said. He crossed his arms and started to look around. Whatever the ancients were doing, they weren't doing it right. Were they expecting answers just by breaking things? Snype decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Tell those ancients to bring out a small group of Pokemon out here. I got a good idea on how to lure this mystery intruder out here. Kehehehe..." Snype said with an evil grin.

"You see? I told you, didn't I? Didn't I tell you? Yep, I told you," Veletra spat. She and Paladin peered through the small slit in the blinds of the window. What they saw was the house across from theirs was being raided by Ancients. Paladin was honestly worried now. What would happen to him if he was caught? Veletra already knew the answer to that one. "Saul, if you get caught, and they find out you're Gold Tribe, you're going to receive the punishment they've had in store for the them. You're going to get the blame, so you'll probably spend the rest of your life in a torturehouse, or worse," she explained. Great. Everywhere Paladin went, chaos seemed to follow. "What do we do? There's nowhere to hide here," Paladin said. "There's a back door over there, come on," Veletra urged. Paladin grabbed his satchel, and stuffed his egg and emblem within. He then followed Veletra to the back door. Just then, a violent knocking came at the front door. Paladin squeezed through the tiny back door, wondering how Veletra had managed to get him inside the house in the first place. The violent knocking came again. 'Boom boom boom boom' That's strange, Paladin thought, the knocking seemed to resonate with the drums inside his head. The Golurk shrugged it off as coincidence and continued out. He came upon a big, fenced patch of dirt which he imagined may have once been a garden. Behind him, Veletra quickly closed the back door as the Ancients burst through the front. Paladin could hear them destroying the mysterious, strange things inside. Then, Veletra proceeded to whistle very loudly. "Excadrill, I need you!" she shouted with emotion. Then, from the ground, emerged a rather rugged-looking Excadrill. His face seemed flawless, but all over his body were scars of battles long past. One of his drills had the tip broken off, and the other looked slightly rusted.

"What?" the Excadrill said casually. "Get this Pokemon out of here! Use Dig!" Veletra ordered. The Excadrill obliged, and created a hole big enough for even Paladin to fit through. Looking down, he noticed that the hole seemed to lead sideways, out of the city. "No! I'm not done here!" Paladin protested, but Veletra simply shook her head. Then, she proceeded to attack Paladin with a Shadow Ball attack. The attack was super effective, and sent Paladin spiraling down the hole. The Excadrill reappeared and pulled Golurk into a side-tunnel he had made, then used a series of Slash attacks to collapse the initial tunnel he had made in the backyard.

"This tunnel leads to the Valkaria Plains," Excadrill said. Paladin had to crawl to be able to fit through the tunnel, but at least he was able to get in at all. "How far are we underground?" Paladin asked. "Not far. Otherwise we might be meeting an evil horde of prehistoric Pokemon right now," the Mole Pokemon answered. "I'm not sure if the army's under this city, or under another one, and frankly, I don't wanna find out." This intrigued Paladin. He had no idea the Silver Tribe were hiding an army under one of their cities. But he decided to contemplate this later and change the subject. "Who are you?" he asked. The Excadrill shrugged. "Dunno. I mean, not anymore," he said. "You lost your memory?" Paladin asked. "No. I just lust sight of who I am, is all. Now my name is just 'Excadrill.' Hmph, talk about creativity," Excadrill said. Paladin chuckled a little. "Heh, yeah, I know how you feel," he sympathized. Then, Excadrill stopped digging for a moment. "We should be out of this city now," he guessed, and began tunneling upwards, as Paladin crawled behind him. Finally, they saw light, and emerged a ways away from Cape City, in the Plains of Valkaria. "Oops. Miscalculation. We could've stopped digging a while ago," Excadrill admitted. "Wait here while I collapse the tunnel we used," and with that, he was gone back down the hole, using a series of Slash attacks to cover his tracks. Paladin sat on the warm grass and thought to himself. 'An army underneath the city...'

While the Ancients were raiding several homes, Snype decided to go and check one out himself. He could hear someone shouting from one of the homes... he couldn't make out what it was but whatever the case, there was a witness. Snype made it his own buisness to walk inside of the house. There were several mystical items laying around but that didn't really concern him. Whoever he heard wasn't inside. He heard something coming from the back yard... hrm.

"...out of here! Use dig!" Was all he heard as he got closer to his target. As Snype approached the back door he proceeded to cut through it. Outside he saw a Mismagius by herself. How suspicious. Was she the one doing all of the shouting? The folks here needed to learn how to be more incognito. He gave off a large grin toward her and leaned against the side of the door, preparing detect. Why not mess with her a little bit?

"Kehehe. Maybe you shouldn't scream so loud next time. Attracts too much attention." Snype said, snickering. Being a fairly new sentinel, the folks in Cape City likely wouldn't know just what he could do. Today was the perfect day to show he was sentinel material.

"Now then I got some questions for you since your the most suspicious one around. You'll answer them, or I'll drag you into the streets and force them out of you." Snype said bluntly.

Dinorah's attention is drawn from the Gallade to the Salamence, as Blitzkrieg approaches her. She looks him over as he does the same to her, listening to his questions. Then another spoke up, and she followed to voice to a Bisharp, looking at him curiously as this was her first time seeing his species. She nods as he echoes Blitzkrieg's question before speaking her answer. "Well, it's a bit of a long story, but here's the short version. I'm from Shine City, and planned to apply to join Gold Tribe, but the day I decided to go for it, happened to be the same day Shine City was invaded.

My father, a Venusaur, who taught me most of what I know where combat is concerned, did his best to help ensure that my mother, brother, sister, and I could escape to safety and was captured himself. I have been living with my remaining family ever since. We kept hearing news about a surviving Gold Tribe group, your group's successes I suppose. My mother assured me they would be alright without me, as she seemed to know how I felt. I was tired of hiding, and knew we couldn't hide forever, so I left to try to find this group of Gold Tribe members. I only had a rough idea of where to look, but I stumbled on that battlefield nearby, followed your tracks, and here I am." Finally, she took a moment to look around at the rest of the group as they were preparing to leave the campsite. Taking note of the Eevee, Pawniard, and Tyrogue, she was glad to see that she wouldn't be the only one who isn't an official member of the tribe, though she couldn't know why they were among the group yet.

__________________

“What if everything you see is more than what you see--the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it is really a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you will find many unexpected things.” ― Shigeru Miyamoto

Zane listened to Dinorah's tale. Her story may have been like many others. A young Pokemon wishing to prove themselves by joining the Gold Tribe, yet being thrust in the invasion and war, going into hiding as each city fell. She had training according to her story, but Zane didn't know on what level the training was. Many have tried to join the Gold Tribe before, and many were turned away. She would have to get a recommendation from an active or retired Gold Tribe member, and then train in one of the Academies. If she would finish her training, she would become one of them, and be given a title and her own emblem.

Of course, that was the way initiation went before all of this. Now, most of it seemed time-consuming and impractical if one were to try to join. Besides, Zane didn't even think it was really necessary either way. What purpose would it serve to have her join a dying group of guardians now that there were so few remaining? Their numbers in the past few years have dwindled from a couple thousand to a couple dozen, if that. Was there really a Gold Tribe to join anymore?

But if she wanted to help, he wouldn't turn her away. They needed everyone they could get. At the very least, if she truly has been trained, she could help in the war effort. "I see. Well, we're currently on the way to Cape City. We're trying to locate a certain artifact, as well as one of our brothers. The three scouts over there," He said, motioning to the Eevee, Pawniard, and Tyrogue, "are leading us to someone who could help find him, as well as potentially help free Cape City from the Silver Tribe. If you like, you can accompany us. We can fill you in on everything that's happened once we're underway. Welcome to the group." Zane stated with a smile. He wasn't sure of Dinorah's capabilities as a fighter, but he was optimistic. Time would tell what she would be able to do, but Zane was more than happy to have another fighter with him. The Gold Tribe all for the most part looked ready to leave, some with anxious expressions. Others with determined features.

Zane approached the three Pokemon next to the campsite. With the Gold Tribe ready to go, he now had to make sure they were ready, before they can take off. Cape City was still a while away, so the sooner they were to leave, the better.

"Good morning." Zane said to the three. "Are you all prepared to depart?"

The three glanced among each other and Lashire stood up, bowing before Vigil. "Yes, we are most collected and prepared. We must leave soon, the time table for the change will happen soon enough. The Ancients are not the brightest but when they change posts that will be the time to move throughout the tunnels."

Saul snorted in response. "Lash, you forget something. We know the tunnels, these idiots will end up going the wrong way or wanting to fight! Don't even get me started on once we get to the winding tunnels and they end up getting seperated!"

Lashire just smiled, "They are Gold Tribe Saul, they can handle it, right Mr. Vigil?"

Zane nodded, returning Lashire's smile, "We'll be alright." He then thought on something that they had mentioned, "So then this Pokemon...your leader, he's located in the tunnels under Cape City? How did he ever navigate them? Even the Gold Tribe don't know all of the passages. It's a maze."

Lashire just grinned in response, "It's... complicated Mr. Vigil. Hey! Once we get you there you can ask him, it just never occured to me to ask how he found out the trick to navigating them."

Saul just grunted as he adjusted his pack. "Well, we ready to head out then?"

Lashire cast a glance at the Eevee who had slept through the whole commotion and picked her up, slinging her over his shoulder with ease. "Yes. Zara will wake up some time later, but we need to head out now, unless you all can wait until evening for another change of the guards."

Zane turned back to the rest of the group, "Gold Tribe! There's no time to lose. We move now."

Some time passed as the three young pokmeon led the group not along a path, but through several wodded areas. As they led the Gold Tribe through the area the three were rather silent. Saul just held his pack close to his back, Lashire confidentally strode forward, and Zara just slept on, every so often turning about or mumbling in her sleep. Some of the Gold Tribe talked with each other, but others did not. Zane managed to tell the newcomer, Dinorah, about everything that has happened, from their past journey to the Gold and Silver Crystal.

Lashire suddenly stopped and held up a hand. "Wait, we're near the tunnel." The Pawniard leaned down and grabbed a part of the grass and tugged it up. Surprisingly the ground yielded and it was shown that the 'grass' was nothing more than some kind of thick blanket heavily camouflaged and had grass weaved into it. "Down this way. We'll be going into a very dark passage, but make no lights. No fire no nothing. Fire is easily seen from a long distance down here. One flame and every Ancient will be on us. Just keep close and you fall behind... well... just make sure it doesn't happen."

With that Lashire lept down the hole with Saul following after him into the darkness.

Zane looked down into the hole after Lahire and Saul lept inside. Cape City was in their sights, thought they were still quite a distance away from it, so he imagined they would have to travel in the tunnels for a bit. The hole was rather large, enough to accomodate the smaller and large Pokemon that traveled with them. He looked back at the others who followed.

"Be wary, keep your eyes open." He said, before jumping in after the scouts.

The tunnel itself was extremely dark. With the hole above them there was enough light to show a very distinct difference from the other parts of the tunnel. Looking down the tunnel all there was to see was a very black darkness. Saul was already moving ahead and as he moved into the shadows it just looked like he had vanished.

Lashire waited for the last Gold Tribe to come down before he climbed up and reached out of the hole to grab the cover and slide it over the hole instantly shrouding everything in darkness.

"Follow me Gold Tribe. For the most part it is a straight shot, but every so often I'll tell you all when to make a turn or what not. Don't miss the turns. We can't spend time searching for you in the miles of tunnels, the best advice I can give you if that happens is try to find your way back to this area and get out of the tunnels. Once an Ancient finds ya, that's it."

With that they would hear the sound of crunching footsteps as the Pawniard headed forward.

Well, this was a problem. Leaning against the side of what used to be Veletra's back door was a Sableye. This Sableye looked normal in almost every manner, though he looked like he might need a comb to sort out his general scruffy look. However, despite his average look, his wide grin unnerved even Veletra, and it took a lot to do that. And his eyes. Those big, shiny gemstones that acted as his eyes. Veletra knew from personal experience that Sableye were always devious and malicious, but these eyes had a glint of pure evil to them. "Kehehe. Maybe you shouldn't scream so loud next time. Attracts too much attention," the Sableye snickered. Who was this Pokemon? He didn't appear to be your average Silver Tribe grunt, so what then? "And why would you care?" Veletra spat. They were both Ghost-type Pokemon, so they probably both liked to play mind games. Suddenly, a thought slid past Veletra's mind. She remembered them announcing the arrival of one or two new Sentinels to replace the ones that had died in a previous battle. Was this...no...but it had to be. This Pokemon was Snype, one of the Sentinels. "Now then, I got some questions for you since you're the most suspicious one around. You'll answer them, or I'll drag you into the streets and force them out of you." Snype continued. Veletra kept her eyes on his face. His grin still unsettled the Mismagius. "Alright, shoot," Veletra said, doing her best to act natural.

PaladinPlains of Valkaria

An hour or so passed as Paladin and Excadrill spoke, exchanging tales. Paladin found that he liked this nameless Pokemon. The Excadrill and Paladin could relate on many levels, since they had both lost much over these past two years. Paladin discovered that Excadrill once had a family, and lived peacefully in Cape City. However, when the invasion of the Ancients came, like so many others, he lost his wife and children in the chaos. Since then, the Excadrill had begun working for a mysterious figure in Cape City, one with much influence and power, though he was forbidden to tell Paladin exactly who this was. Paladin explained that he had been looking for Excadrill's employer to find out more about his past, and Excadrill offered to take him as soon as all the commotion had died down. "So, what have you found out about your past so far?" Excadrill asked. The question got Paladin thinking. What had he actually found out this past year? He scolded himself for not putting any more effort into finding it out, as he realised that he only had his Gold Tribe emblem to go on. He showed Excadrill his emblem, on which was marked 'Paladin.' The Excadrill nodded and handed the emblem back to him. "So I suppose that's your title, then? Paladin?" he asked. Paladin nodded and placed the emblem back in his satchel. The two Pokemon sat on the grass in the middle of the plains, between them lay Paladin's egg. He had put it there so that it could catch some sunlight.

For a few minutes, Paladin and Excadrill stopped talking, each taking to their own thoughts in silence as the egg lay between them. In particular, Paladin thought about himself. Since he had found the egg, the Golurk had devoted his entire being to caring for it, and had forgotten all about himself and his quest for truth. He wondered if maybe, just maybe, he could instead try to help the citizens of Cape City. It seemed impossible, but some hardwired instinct inside him made him want to defend the innocent. He thought of being a member of the Gold Tribe again. The thought both terrified and excited him at the same time. If he joined the Gold Tribe, he was extremely likely to get killed. The Ancients were simply too many for a small rabble of resisters to handle, coupled with the strength of those Silver Tribe traitors, and Auron, they were unbeatable. Even with the help of what remained of the Alpha Alliance army, it was hopeless. But...Paladin simply couldn't bear the thought of the land staying under Auron's rule like this for future generations. He didn't want the little Pokemon inside the egg to hatch under oppression. Whatever Gold Tribe was left in him urged him to do something about it. But how?

Just then, Paladin was snapped out of his thoughts by a loud crack coming from beside him. He looked at Excadrill, who also appeared surprised, and looked at the egg in front of them. A large crack had appeared in its side. It was hatching! The egg moved, and Paladin had to grasp it in his palm to stop it from rolling away. He smiled, if that's even possible for a Golurk, as part of the eggshell was kicked away by a tiny, blue leg. Then another piece of egg shattered to reveal the long, pointed, head of a Snivy. Paladin deposited the egg back on the grass, allowing the Snivy to emerge from its shell. Its radiant, blue color glinted in the sunlight as it opened its eyes. Wait...blue? Snivy was usually a green Pokemon with a beige underbelly. This Pokemon was a light shade of blue-green, with a slightly darker underbelly. Other than that, it seemed to be a perfectly normal, healthy Snivy. "Congratulations, mom," Excadrill joked, and they both burst out laughing. Wow...laughter, Paladin thought. It had been such a long time since he had laughed that he'd almost forgotten how. However, the little, delicate Snivy was caught off guard by the laughing and began crying loudly. "Shh, shh," Excadrill said, but the baby kept crying. Excadrill picked it up with the hand underneath his claws, and began singing some form of sweet song. Eventually, the crying subsided and the newborn Pokemon drifted off to sleep. "How did you do that?" Paladin asked. The Excadrill looked at him with a small grin on his face. "It's called a lullaby. I used to be a dad, remember?" he said, as he put the Snivy back on the grass. The small Pokemon turned and tossed endlessely in his sleep. "He's an energetic one, isn't he? What do you want to call him?" Excadrill asked. Paladin thought about this for a moment, but it came to him soon enough.

Snype gave off a menacing smirk. She seemed nervous. Well, may as well add onto that. Snype walked closer to her with a smirk. He knew that she was hiding something but why not play around a bit? Whoever intruded was either long gone or deep in hiding by now. Whatever the case, she knew who and where this intruder was. Snype thought so at least. He noticed a bit of land that seemed out of place. Maybe that was the whole dig business. It was pretty large also.

Snype approached Veletra and stood directly in front of her, giving her his usual large smile. "Just what are you doing back here? Clearly the ancients are looking around for a... certain intruder. I assumed everyone would cooperate so that no harm would be done." Snype snickered and put and arm around the back of her neck as if they were buddies. He put a finger under her chin. "I'd hate to see what would happen if somebody was hiding information from us... red wouldn't be a good color on you... kehehe..." Snype said. He stayed uncomfortably close to her. "...whats this about using Dig? I know your species can't use that move... you'd need someone else! Kehehe..." Snype added.

Accatosh listned to Dinorah's story, nothing seemed out of the ordinary in this... he did wonder at who her father was, he definately sounded familure. he turned his head to where Vigil was speaking with the three smaller pokemon, something about the Tyrogue's attitude towards others rubbed him the wrong way, and it made him growl slightly at times.

"Gold Tribe! There's no time to lose. We move now." Vigil called out. Accatosh walked beside Vigil and Dinorah listening. an idea came to his head, it would be simple realy and wouldn't require much time
"Vigil," he said in a low voice as they approached the tunnel, "do you think we should offer her the challenge?" he asked, refering to the challenge given to all newly applied members to the gold tribe. "I think it would be a good idea since we know very little about Dinorah it would help, and I have a feeling I know who her father was."

"Wait, we're near the tunnel." The Pawniard raised a patch of grass... or so Bloodthirster thought, at first. What he realized afterwards was that Lashire uncovered a hole in the ground. "Down this way. We'll be going into a very dark passage, but make no lights. No fire no nothing. Fire is easily seen from a long distance down here. One flame and every Ancient will be on us. Just keep close and you fall behind... well... just make sure it doesn't happen."

And he leaped into the hole, along with Saul. Bloodthirster was hesitant, to say the least. The hole was barely enough for him to squeeze through; he wondered if he would have to go all the way like this - the city was within range of sight, but it still was a pretty long way. I hate being underground. I hate this no fire thing. And I hate not flapping my wings. And I hate not crushing the pesky bugs people call Ancients. With a great, intimidating frown that screwed up his face, he followed his allies into the hole, glancing one last time at the open sky.

"Be wary, keep your eyes open." Vigil had said, and Bloodthirster didn't need to be told twice. His eyes weren't that strong in the dark, but his ears and his nostrils were enough for him to grasp the presence of other Pokemon. In that case, his claws shivered with anticipation. He was hoping for some carnage since the last time they got to beat up Ancients, and Cape City would most likely bring up some fun.

As they moved further into the tunnel, it got darker and darker, until Bloodthirster couldn't even recognize the outline of the shadow of the Pokemon in the front. His tail got anxious in the limited space the tunnel's walls allowed him, inspiring him the urge to smash it against them to widen them, as if it ever would. He knew better, thankfully - every cave or tunnel, like those of Korhal Mountains, collapsed if he got angry. Personal experience had taught him that, and also how to survive if a cave collapsed. The dark was still a problem to him, as annoying as a swift Aerodactyl who disabled and stunned him.

"Follow me Gold Tribe. For the most part it is a straight shot, but every so often I'll tell you all when to make a turn or what not. Don't miss the turns. We can't spend time searching for you in the miles of tunnels, the best advice I can give you if that happens is try to find your way back to this area and get out of the tunnels. Once an Ancient finds ya, that's it."

Lashire's voice echoed through the tunnels, making Bloodthirster's scales wave. He shook his head lightly, vainly trying to detect at least a hint of light in the ultimate dark;hope costs nothing, he told himself as he looked down, disappointed. They walked and walked and walked, the ground seeming enticingly soft under his feet - he would gladly flatten it with them if that wouldn't cause some trouble. All the walking had gotten him bored and whiny, thinking why not just fly over Cape City and bring a world of pain to any who opposed him? Ah, but war wasn't that simple. He wasn't the only one fighting, only he did not realize. There were newcomers lately, lost Golden Tribe members who helped their own numbers grow. Wasn't that a thing to make him comfortable? The Gold Tribe was wasn't dead just yet. They had a chance to survive... or not. Auron was toying with them.

"Auron is toying with us," he said aloud, gritting his teeth in displeasure. He wasn't talking to anyone in particular, it was that his thoughts became unbearable after a while, and that happened alot more faster in the ultimate dark. I hate dark, he repeated to himself, I hate being underground, and I hate walking underground.

Hanso SharpEye
~~~~~
Hanso returned his emblem to his upper arm, listening as the Meganium told her story. His face remained impassive, but his mind thought back to the battle for Shine City. Dinorah's story checked out, since Hanso remembered seeing a Venusaur of the Gold Tribe some time before the Ancients got into the city. He sighed to himself, out of relief. If others of the Gold Tribe, or related to it, had gotten out alive, then it was another sign to the Gallade that Brynn would have made it out alive. At the same time, though, there was the possibility that she could have been captured and...

Hanso abruptly turned back to his pack and picked it up, ready to leave. He would not let himself think about what might have happened. The Gallade stood still as his mind picked up the remainder of his sensors, leaving just a trace of psychic energy that would fade away within a few hours. When he turned his attention back to the campsite, Zane was talking to the three Cape City Pokemon. Hanso edged a little closer to better hear, just as Saul said, "Lash, you forget something. We know the tunnels, these idiots will end up going the wrong way or wanting to fight! Don't even get me started on once we get to the winding tunnels and they end up getting seperated!"

Hanso raised an eyebrow as he listened to the rest. Won't be hard to keep track of you three, he thought. As the group began to move out, Hanso took a place near the front, where he'd be able to memorize the terrain they crossed. It might be useful to remember the entrance to the tunnels, should he ever need to teleport there. It wasn't long before Lashire suddenly stopped and held up a hand. "Wait, we're near the tunnel."

Hanso took a few steps to the side, turning to get a clear image of the area, especially the patch of 'grass' that the Pawniard pulled up. How many other places had he memorized in such a way? There was the outside entrance to Albia's sewers, and the Thieves' Village, assuming it was still intact. That smoke above the forest had not been a good sign. When the Gold Tribe began filing down the hole, Hanso kept himself among the last few to disappear into the tunnel. As Lashire closed the hole above them, Hanso set up a network that kept track of the minds of each and every member in their group, except for the scouts.

Lashire's last words before leading the way were, "Follow me Gold Tribe. For the most part it is a straight shot, but every so often I'll tell you all when to make a turn or what not. Don't miss the turns. We can't spend time searching for you in the miles of tunnels, the best advice I can give you if that happens is try to find your way back to this area and get out of the tunnels. Once an Ancient finds ya, that's it."

As they moved along, Hanso blinked several times to note the difference in light, or lack of a difference. He turned part of his mind to practice emptying his 'white room'. Penance had said it would take a while to get it right, but Hanso didn't have two months to do so. Besides, the white room kept filling with various thoughts, some of which didn't sound at all like himself.

"Auron is toying with us," Ragnaros said aloud, making Hanso jump slightly at the sudden sound. The Salamence's voice echoed slightly, which wasn't necessary. The sounds of their footsteps was enough noise already.

"Less noise," Hanso relayed, allowing his message to reach the whole Gold Tribe. It was easy, since he'd already been keeping track of them. After a moment of thought, the Gallade added, "You have a point, though. Considering all the Ancients that there must be, and the Sentinels...something for when we have time to talk." Unfortunately, that took Hanso's mind off his 'white room' and back to the problems at hand. They were en route to Cape City, hoping to find the Gold Crystal, which would counter the Silver Crystal.

What were its powers, again? It could unlock a Pokemon's 'chaos form', which had apparently happened with Ignitus. The crystal, or its prisoner, could take control of anyone who touched it, which may have happened to Auron. One line in particular rose to mind: The Dark One feeds off the malice, chaos, and evil of our world. Hanso stopped suddenly, momentarily forgetting whether anyone was behind him. Was it possible?... He locked the thought away in one corner of his mind, preserving it for the time being. As he'd said, it was something for when they had time to talk. Hanso hurried up to reach the one before him, tracking the other's mind.

Dinorah smiled and nodded to Zane after he briefly told her where they were going and why before welcoming her to the group. The question of whether she would like to accompany them did make her chuckle a little. "Well I certainly didn't intend to travel all this way to find you all just to say hello and go my own way. I would be honored to accompany you all." She would then turn to help the others finish packing up if needed. She had nothing to pack herself, having left all her belongings behind in Shine City when escaping during the attack, not to mention she was able to get most of her nourishment from sunlight, only needing water along with some occasional nuts or fruit to sustain herself.

As the group formed up to head out Dinorah filed in among the others, ending up following behind Zane, listening carefully as he took the opportunity to better fill her in about everything that has been going on lately while they made the way to the entrance for the hidden tunnels. The trip also left her wondering if she should tell the group more about her past, specifically, her father. He had been a fighter in Gold Tribe, one focused more on defending key targets than on attacking from the front lines, and this he passed on to Dinorah as he trained her. She came to decide however, that there was no reason to bring him up now, and she didn't want any special treatment for having a Gold Tribe veteran as her father and mentor.

Before long, they all arrived at the hidden tunnel entrance, and Dinorah followed the others inside, blinking as her eyes tried to adjust to the darkness. Once the camouflaged cover to the entrance was replaced and they made their way further inside, she realized that she could now see no less with her eyes closed. "Well, I'm effectively blind down here..." She muttered in a low voice as she followed Zane as closely as she could. She extended a vine toward him from under her flower, stopping halfway. "Mind if I wrap a vine loosely around your waist to be extra sure I don't lose you guys?"

__________________

“What if everything you see is more than what you see--the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it is really a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you will find many unexpected things.” ― Shigeru Miyamoto

During their trip in the dark tunnel, Accatosh was silent, he did his best to tread lightly on the tunnel floor and simply listen to everything that was going on, The other Salamence was being rather noisy with his voice mixed in with his heavy tread, Accatosh searched through his mind trying to figure out who the Salamence was, he recognized the voice and with the voice came the dragon's thoughts and mentality. a memory surfaced in Accatosh's mind causing him to remember very well who this Salamence was. He was one of the other fighters at Gold City, the one who went on a rampage with bloodlust, at least that's how Accatosh saw it, the dragon had killed a large number of pokemon that day, his forelegs were painted red with blood.

Accatosh however kept these thoughts to himself, making note to talk to Bloodthirster about their partially related past, and to question Dinorah about her bloodline. he then focused his thoughts on the task at hand, meeting this unknown leader of this anti-silver-tribe band and the liberation of Cape City, the city where his girlfriend lived, he was unsure if she was still alive or if she had joined this rebel group, his thoughts slowly shifted to her, Veletra Dragonfang, a beautiful Salamence, she was remarkable in every way. He shook his head and took deep breaths, calming and taking control of his mind.

I need to focus on the task at hand, he thought to himself, then I can find out what happened to her. he continued on his way silently simply listening for anything that may be ether a threat, or friend, he preferred just as much as anybody else, to not fight in such close quarters, although from what he saw last night, such close quarters might work into their advantage.

Veletra was no longer able to hide her discomfort when the freaky little Sableye put an arm around her neck. She almost shivered when Snype mentioned what would happen if she was hiding something. It was then that she came up with a good lie. She was good at lying, better than anyone she'd ever known. "I apologize, my liege, I was unable to attend to the door because I've been back here most of the day working with my friend on turning the garden over. I'm planning to use this patch of earth to plant vegetables and the like, you see, and I needed fresh soil to plant them in. This parched grass was in the way, so I asked my Diglett friend to go underground and turn over the soil," she lied. She used Psychic to make some beans float from inside the house over to where the two were standing. "You see, I was going to plant these when Diglett was finished, but he decided to quit, so I had to shout at him to continue working, but he just up and left. That's why my garden isn't complete," Veletra said, motioning to the parched grass surrounding the upturned ground.

Snype was still suspicious of the girl. Garden work sounded convincing enough but Snype just had the feeling there was more to the story. He just kept his smirk and kept uncomfortably close to her and put her into a side hug. "Ah... garden work... of course. Makes sense... kehehe..." Snype said. Then he got an idea. He had no idea if the girl was telling the truth or not but perhaps this would make her spill the beans. Snype decided he would take a guess and accuse her of lying. If this works as planned, She would likely spit out the truth, confirming his suspicion.

"Digging underground isn't exactly safe I hear... infact, I've heard of a case where some Gold Tribe troops used an underground passage to attack a city right below... they ended up winning that battle you know. I should have you punished for something like that. You could be digging a tunnel right under our noses for all I know. Or perhaps... digging an escape route for our intruder? Yes... that's it... you aren't gardening... kehehe... I'm right aren't I?" Snype said, snickering. This claim was mostly an assumption but the fact that she was relying on a Diglett was suspicious enough. Next thing Snype knew, the Gold Tribe would do another surprise attack right under their noses. Whatever the case, hopefully this would get him more information and perhaps confirm his suspicion. All he needed was to play enough mind tricks to make this girl spill the beans.

Allora walked into one of the small market stalls and looked around. She was looking for a particular item rarely seen since the Silver Tribe took control of the city; a Flame Orb. She had heard rumors that the Macargo who owned the store was from a family who made the said item. After the other customers left, Allora approached the elderly Macargo who was sitting behind the counter. “I know why you are here young one.” The Macargo spat out, coughing shortly after. “But unfortunately I do not have the item you seek.” Allora sighed disappointed, “When will you have another? I need that item.” Macargo slowly stretched and placed an old, burnt pipe in the corner of his mouth while eyeing Allora. “What interest do you have in this item? Why should I risk my life to bring in this item? You know this won’t come cheap.” “I understand that. I am willing to trade for it.” Allora used her psychic powers to take out a string of Pearls from the satchel around her neck and lay them on the counter. “I believe this should be worth more than enough for it.” The Macargo eyes became wide as he stared at the Pearls that lay before him. “Where did you get such a thing?” Allora chuckled and grinned at the old Pokemon,“That is for me to know. So do we have a deal?”

Just then screams echoed throughout the air, drawing Allora’s attention away from the Macargo. Pokemon of all sizes and ages fled from the street in front of the store. Only two things could cause Pokemon to scatter like that; either the Sentinels were in a bad mood or an Ancient was set “free” on the people. Allora quickly put the Pearls away and rushed out onto the street, dodging a few panicked citizens. Right as she reached the curb a bloodcurdling scream reached her ears. Allora franticly looked around for the source of the scream to see a nearby Kabutops hit the ground with a loud thud. As Allora walked towards the obviously dead Kabutops her attention was drawn to a child pointing to something in the sky. Following his direction with her gaze, Allora spotted another Pokemon in the sky. This huge, bulk of a Pokémon hovered for a few seconds before it too plummeted towards the ground. Allora waited to hear another thud as the Pokemon hit the ground but nothing but the citizen’s chatter was heard. Allora stepped into one of the now abandoned market stalls and pretended to put products away as she observed the scene unfold.

Shortly after the incident happened the crowd of citizens again quickly scattered to reveal a few Sentinels walking towards the dead Kabutops and other Ancients raiding homes and stores. ‘Looks like it’s time to get out of here.’ Allora thought as she quietly disappeared into the shadows of a side street. Who was that Pokemon that took out the Ancient and where is that Pokemon now? Allora had to know, if by some chance, that Pokemon was a member of the Gold Tribe and, if they were a member, then does that mean theGold Tribe has returned? As Allora weaved in and out of the side streets, dodging Ancients and Sentinels, she went through the list of allies that lived close by. ‘Maybe one of them knows what is going on. The closest one though is……….Veletra the Mismagius.’

Jumping through yards and alley ways, Allora slowly made her way towards Veletra’s back yard. Once she was in sight of it she stopped to observe the discussion that was going on. Veletra was cornered in the yard by an evil looking Sableye known as Snype; a new Sentinel. ‘This is not good, not good at all.’ Allora thought as she tried to sneak close enough to hear the two. She could hear Veletra explaining herself to the Sentinel who didn’t look convinced.

"I apologize, my liege, I was unable to attend to the door because I've been back here most of the day working with my friend on turning the garden over. I'm planning to use this patch of earth to plant vegetables and the like, you see, and I needed fresh soil to plant them in. This parched grass was in the way, so I asked my Diglett friend to go underground and turn over the soil," Veletra lied. She used Psychic to make some beans float from inside the house over to where the two were standing. "You see, I was going to plant these when Diglett was finished, but he decided to quit, so I had to shout at him to continue working, but he just up and left. That's why my garden isn't complete," Veletra said, motioning to the parched grass surrounding the upturned ground. "I'm so sorry for this misunderstanding, sir."

"Digging underground isn't exactly safe I hear... infact, I've heard of a case where some Gold Tribe troops used an underground passage to attack a city right below... they ended up winning that battle you know. I should have you punished for something like that. You could be digging a tunnel right under our noses for all I know. Or perhaps... digging an escape route for our intruder? Yes... that's it... you aren't gardening... kehehe...I'm right aren't I?" Snype said, snickering.

‘Garden…..tunnels……I see. Thank you Veletra. I know exactly where to look now. Please be safe. We will be back to rescue you,’ Allora thought to herself as she slipped away into the shadows again. She knew that Veletra never did have a garden in that spot; it was one of the entrances into the “digging” tunnels that are used in emergencies. There are only a few places that those tunnels are supposed to go to, the closest being the Plains of Valkaria. Allora knew she had to take the chance and see if they were at the Plains. Not only did Veletra give away where they might be at but also the fact that they were on their side. ‘If Veletra would risk her life in order to save whoever it is then she must have known that they were on our side…….do I dare say a Gold Tribe member?’ Allora contemplated as she silently hurried to the Plains.

Once Allora was at the plains she cautiously wondered around looking for any clues as to where this “ally” might be. After a few minutes of looking around aimlessly, the sound of laughing rang in Allora’s ears followed by the loud crying of a baby. ‘A child? All the way out here?’ Curiosity got the better of Allora as she made her way towards the sound of the crying; which slowly faded away into the singing of a lullaby. What she found she never expected. Sitting in the grass was a very large Pokemon known as a Golurk and an older Excadrill cradling a uniquely colored baby Snivy, who was now asleep. At first Allora didn’t know what to think about this situation and continued to watch the pair.

"How did you do that?" Golurk asked. The Excadrill looked at him with a small grin on his face. "It's called a lullaby. I used to be a dad, remember?" he said, as he put the Snivy back on the grass. The small Pokemon turned and tossed endlessely in his sleep."He's an energetic one, isn't he? What do you want to call him?" Excadrill asked. The Golurk thought about this for a moment. "His name will be Zed."

‘Zed the Snivy huh? Hmm……it is a cute name.’ Allora couldn’t help but smile at that thought. She was about to walk away and leave them be when she remembered something Veletra had told her. “When you’re in trouble and need access to the ‘digging’ tunnels, be sure to remember the names of the Pokemon who risk their lives to grant you access to them. Nincada, Trapinch, Excadrill, Dugtrio, and Onix. The Pokemon who is stationed at this entrance is Excadrill. You will refer to him as Excadrill only to help protect his identity. He has suffered a terrible loss already by losing his wife and child. We don’t need to be the reason he suffers more.” Allora started mumbling as she began to put two-and-two together, “A wife and child……..this Excadrill said he used to be a father…..with that paired with the fact Veletra was talking about her “garden”…..he must be the Excadrill that is the “digging” tunnel guard. So then that means that Golurk must be the one I saw take down that Kabutops. I think I finally found them!”

Allora had to know for sure, though, as she had never met the guard Excadrill in person. She had a plan to see if the pair knew Veletra. Allora would use her name in a sentence and if they knew her they would answer her without confusion. Staying hidden in the nearby shrubs Allora called out to the pair, being careful not to wake baby Zed. “Excadrill, Golurk……..Master Veletra will not be happy if you two are intruding in her ‘garden’. Did you receive ‘permission’ to venture out here?”

Zed was a good Pokemon. A good soldier. He never deserved his fate. His entire life, he'd been a faithful, loyal solder of the Alpha Alliance. Until, that is, the arrival of the Ancients. During this horrible event, Zed the Sceptile had been fighting valiantly against hoard after hoard of vile, prehistoric monsters. And to believe, it had all happened just a few weeks before he'd thought of joining the Gold Tribe. Zed lost everything in the battle for Gold City. His family, his friends, his home, and so many other things he had fought - and failed - to protect were taken from him. His entire life was taken by the Ancients. Since then, Zed went into hiding, swearing vengeance one day.

Paladin first met Zed on his travels as a refugee; they met in Liberty Town back when Paladin had only recently awoken with amnesia in the Wastes. Zed helped Paladin get back on his feet, so to speak, and aided him in getting used to the new world. Zed told Paladin his story, and the two instantly became friends. Over the course of the next few months, the two travel all over Valkaria, both looking for something that couldn't be found. Zed was the main reason that Paladin didn't lose control all the time, and helped him to learn to contain his inner power. However, there came that faithful day. That day, Zed wanted to return to his home, Gold - now Silver - city, and see if there could have been any of his loved ones still alive. Paladin insisted that they forget it, stating that the city was too heavily guarded and that they would surely look suspicious. However, Zed eventually convinced his friend to fly them over the wall, as discreetly as possible. Unfortunately, discreet wasn't Paladin's style, and as expected, they were instantly caught and carried to the torturehouse in Gravel City. It was here that they met the malevolent Sentinel Frost, who tortured Zed for days on end and left Paladin to rot in a cell. Eventually, when Zed was on the brink of death, Paladin was able to break free from his cell and escape with his friend...but it was too late.

Zed was a good Pokemon. A good friend. His name deserved to live on through this little oddly-colored Snivy before Paladin right now, snuggling up to the grass underneath it. Suddenly, Paladin was snapped out of his trip down memory lane by Excadrill. "Why Zed?" he asked. "Wh-what?" Paladin stuttered. He didn't like to lose his train of thought. "Why did you call him Zed?" the Excadrill asked again. "To honor an old friend," Paladin answered. The pain that Excadrill could see in the Golurk's awkwardly-shaped eyes warned him that he should not ask further questions.

Excadrill appeared visibly startled when a voice called out to the pair, silently, but firmly. However, Paladin did not flinch. He simply stared in the direction of the voice, curious as to what it might be. “Excadrill, Golurk……..Master Veletra will not be happy if you two are intruding in her ‘garden’. Did you receive ‘permission’ to venture out here?” the voice asked. Mystified, Paladin began walking closer. "Come out where I can see you, and maybe-" he started saying, but was cut off by Excadrill. "Yes. The 'garden' needed to be 're-planted.' I'm the 'gardener,' and this is the one that's been 'eating all the plants.'" he motioned towards Paladin. "Excuse me? I haven't been eating any plants, and if that's code that you're talking in there, I must say it's not very creative," Paladin butted in. He was perfectly aware that they were talking in some sort of code, and that the intruder was probably making sure if she could trust the pair. But who was she? Curiosity overcame Paladin, and he started towards the bushes that the voice had been coming from. "Paladin, leave it," Excadrill ordered, but the Golurk just kept walking until he reached the network of shrubbery, and pushed them out of the way.

VeletraCape City

A side hug? Snype was definitely trying to get Veletra to tell the truth. He mused about how the story made sense, but then he said something that surprised Veletra beyond belief.

He had uncovered everything. How was this possible? He knew almost the entire truth just by guessing? Veletra wanted to come up with another witty lie, but her common sense go a hold of her. If Snype knew this much already, he was probably going to find out that she also worked for the same mysterious benefactor as Excadrill. And she could not allow that to happen. She had to get out of here, now.

"Well, Snype," she began, no longer concerned with respecting the short Sentinel. "I believe you've overstayed your welcome. But since you won't leave, perhaps I will," she said, almost in a harmonic voice, before floating out of the Sableye's grip and launching a Shadow Ball straight at him. At first, she thought it would do supereffective damage since he was also a Ghost type, but with horror, she remembered that he was also a Dark type. He was one of the rare kinds of Pokemon that didn't actually have any weaknesses. Forgetting the idea of fighting him and four other Ancients, she began to flee as quickly as she could.

Ha! He was right! Judging by the past attacks, anything involving work underground had to be suspicious... could this mean another attack was incoming underground? Snype had to be sure... this girl still had more info! However she seemed to catch on and attacked Snype! Snype was hit directly with the Shadow Ball attack and quickly took notice of Veletra trying to escape. He quickly used Shadow Sneak, causing his shadow to extend and to turn into a physical form, ambushing her by jumping right in front of her and attacking with its sharp claws. This would hopefully send her flying right back into Snype, where he would grab her by the throat.

"Kehehe... you could have just kept quiet... what I stated was a mere theory! I had no idea of what you were doing! I was actually considering letting you go... however..." Snype stared into her eyes, as if piercing her soul. He gave her a cold hard slap across the face. "It seems you decided to tell me the entire truth... and now you'll pay for your disobedience... kehehe..." Snype said. He began to drag her along the floor to the other sentinels. Once he went back to them, he gave off a large menacing smile. "Tie her up or something. Use some psychic voodoo magic thing so that she doesn't fade through whatever holds her down. She helped our intruder escape underground... meaning there's likely underground tunnels right below us. Unless you want a repeat of Eternity City, you'll look into it." Snype said, acting like he was the boss all of a sudden... but he had some valuable information and this ghost had some valuable info herself!

"Kehe... oh... and make sure she doesn't try doing anything reckless like suicide. Keep her alive until we beat out every piece of information out of her. I have another plan if she doesn't... bring out some of the citizens. They can watch and see what happens to traitors." Snype said, smirking evilly. Those citizens were all part of the plan as well though! If she didn't comply... then she wouldn't be the only one on the brink of death...

The glint of TrueStriker's Gold Tribe emblem caught Daricka's eye as he lifted it to allow the sunlight to bounce off it. Curious, she turned her head in the direction the light was shining and watched as a Meganium emerged from the trees and approached them. "Please don't be alarmed, I am on your side," she said. "My name is Dinorah. Are you all from Gold Tribe?"

"Yes, we're all gold tribe, except the three younglings over there," Blitzkrieg replied with a nod towards the three pre-evolutions. "And what is someone like you doing here, at this hour?"

“Yes, it’s unusual for someone to be traveling by themselves all the way out here," Vigil put in. "Especially by themselves. My name is Zane Tyrael, known as Vigil. Would you mind telling us what you’re doing out here?”

Daricka focused on Dinorah with her closed expression, also wondering about these things but not seeing the point in repeating the question. "Well, it's a bit of a long story, but here's the short version. I'm from Shine City, and planned to apply to join Gold Tribe, but the day I decided to go for it, happened to be the same day Shine City was invaded." As the Meganium continued with her story, Daricka watched her closely for any signs that she might be lying while her hands moved to replace a small bunch of uneaten berries back into her pack. Seeing nothing that gave her reason to disbelieve the newcomer - for the moment, least ways - she swung her pack over her shoulder and rose to her feet. Now that they had made Dinorah's acquaintance, she was sure they would be on their way before long. Sure enough, after a short-lived conversation with the trio that would serve as their guides, Vigil called for the Gold Tribe to move out.

Per usual, Daricka trekked along silently, her attention constantly on the path ahead as well as the surrounding trees. She came to a sudden halt with the rest of the group as Lashire raised a hand, saying, "Wait, we're near the tunnel." He leaned down and pulled up what at first appeared to be grass, but what Daricka soon realized was really just a camouflaged blanket, and beneath it was the gaping black mouth of the tunnels. "Down this way," the Pawniard said. "We'll be going into a very dark passage, but make no lights. No fire no nothing. Fire is easily seen from a long distance down here. One flame and every Ancient will be on us. Just keep close and you fall behind... well... just make sure it doesn't happen."

Daricka took note of this, thanking Arceus for the dark coloration of her flames, which only brightened if they lost contact with her body for a long enough period of time. After Vigil's warning to be careful, the Gold Tribe trooped on into the tunnels after Lashire and Saul. Once they'd all gathered inside, Lashire shut the hole that had allowed them entrance, allowing darkness to encompass them all.

"Follow me Gold Tribe. For the most part it is a straight shot, but every so often I'll tell you all when to make a turn or what not. Don't miss the turns. We can't spend time searching for you in the miles of tunnels, the best advice I can give you if that happens is try to find your way back to this area and get out of the tunnels. Once an Ancient finds ya, that's it." With these last words of advice, they set off into the maze of tunnels.

As they walked, Bloodthirster seemed to become more and more restless, thought she doubted he was the only one. "Auron is toying with us," the Salamence suddenly announced aloud.

Her oceanic eyes flashed over to him as she prepared to reprimand him for speaking so loudly, but TrueStriker beat her to it. Well, his method was probably the better of the two. "Less noise," the Gallade relayed to them telepathically. "You have a point, though. Considering all the Ancients that there must be, and the Sentinels...something for when we have time to talk."

As she had thought, Daricka wasn't the only one wondering about these things. There was an thought that had crossed her mind many times since their last encounter with Sentry; but as TrueStriker had said, such talk should wait for when they had the time to really discuss it.

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